CONTEST: Which female companion did Ash have the least memorable interaction with?

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Re: Which female companion did Ash have the least memorable interaction with?

Iris. Sure it's early, but even that early, the other girls had better interactions.
The "What a child/You're such a kid" isn't even a comical interaction, it's cliched and dull. They don't have a huge bond, or any interesting/hilarious moments that all the other girls had.

"Calculated tactics, mental strength, accurate judgement, and being blessed with gorgeous looks! The person who has all of these is...!"

Re: Which female companion did Ash have the least memorable interaction with?

Beyond that, all of the female leads are more 'different' than better or worse than each other.

With Misty, the dynamic between she and Ash was mostly one of Misty being more experienced and telling Ash what to do. And because Ash wants to do things his own way, he chaffed under this, which fueled a lot of the volatile chemistry (IE: Violence) between the two. This is more evident in Kanto than Orange or Johto. Togepi seemed to mellow her out, I guess.

The dynamic with May is just about the opposite of the dynamic with Misty: Ash is put into a position of experience over the newbie coordinator, and Ash shows that his experiences with Misty have taught him how NOT to tell May what to do. Their chemistry is a lot friendlier, with arguments between them never really being anything serious. Ash also seems pretty protective of May in a few episodes, such as Date Expectations, so he probably feels some responsibility to someone he considers his student.

The dynamic with Dawn is close to the dynamic with May, but there's no subordination: Ash and Dawn are placed just about at each-other's level, and instead of a student-teacher dynamic, we have two people who are friends. Like the May-Ash dynamic, there's little fighting between them, and they both help each other (famous examples including the Spin-Dodge the Counter Shield for Ash).

Re: Which female companion did Ash have the least memorable interaction with?

To be totally honest, I would say that Iris has the least memorable interactions, because... well... there are next to no scenes where there's actually legit interactions between Ash and Iris, i.e. where Ash reacts to something Iris says, where there's a legitimate back and forth between the two. Ash will do something, Iris will say, "Such a kid" and then... nothing. See, (and hell inhabitants, get ready to be frozen over) with Misty, at least the snide comments were picked up, Ash answered with his own snide comment, and there was a legit back and forth. There really isn't that bickering with Ash and Iris, it just falls flat. Even with Dawn in early DP episodes, Ash got annoyed at her sleeping in a tent and her taking too long to get ready. She got annoyed when he was too patronizing. There was some bickering here and there, but also some very touching moments where you could tell that they really cared (AS FRIENDS.) about each other, and wanted to help the other out like after Dawn's two contest losses in the appeal rounds or after Ash's loss in his first full battle to Paul. With May, the mentoring relationship in my opinion really worked and lead to some great scenes between the two.

The problem in my opinion with Iris' interactions is that neither extreme is really ever reached, neither the bickering kinda friendship/hate relationship, nor the really full-on-friendship-let's-support-each-other-til-the-end interactions. Misty had the first extreme, May had the second extreme and Dawn went from one to the other over the course of DP as far as the characters themselves grew. But in BW, neither Ash not Cilan really pick up on anything Iris does or says, nor really seem to care about her, and vice-versa.

Re: Which female companion did Ash have the least memorable interaction with?

Wolverine explained it perfectly, she's been around for 50 episodes almost, its enough time to analyze their interactions. On top of that, Ash's interactions with his female friends doesn't change that dramatically over the course of a region, so Ash/Iris likely won't be THAT much different by the time we're at the end.

Also, lol, its obvious most people here have no memory of the AG episodes anymore. Given how old they are though its understandable.

Re: Which female companion did Ash have the least memorable interaction with?

Wolverine explained it perfectly, she's been around for 50 episodes almost, its enough time to analyze their interactions. On top of that, Ash's interactions with his female friends doesn't change that dramatically over the course of a region, so Ash/Iris likely won't be THAT much different by the time we're at the end.

50 episodes is enough time?

Oh God. You know what? Just carry on, the true purpose of this thread is just so incredibly obvious that it stinks.

Re: Which female companion did Ash have the least memorable interaction with?

Also, lol, its obvious most people here have no memory of the AG episodes anymore. Given how old they are though its understandable.

I admit it has been a long time since I've seen Advance Generation, but I think that's the most important thing for the poll: If the character's interactions are memorable, you'll remember them regardless of how much time has passed. I remember May's interactions with Ash the way I do because that's how I remember them. They're probably colored a bit by AdvanceShipping back then, but I tried to be as impartial as I could.

I remember Ash and Dawn's High Touch and I remember Misty slapping Ash in the first episode. I remember Date Expectations for May. For me, those are the moments I can point to and say "That's what these characters are like when they're together".

Re: Which female companion did Ash have the least memorable interaction with?

Originally Posted by Purim

I admit it has been a long time since I've seen Advance Generation, but I think that's the most important thing for the poll: If the character's interactions are memorable, you'll remember them regardless of how much time has passed. I remember May's interactions with Ash the way I do because that's how I remember them. They're probably colored a bit by AdvanceShipping back then, but I tried to be as impartial as I could.

That is true, but its obvious some people here only ever watched the AG episodes once back when they originally aired, barely remember them, so they honestly don't remember what the Ash/May or even Hoenn group dynamic was like. The fact that when people think of Contests, they only remember Dawn's now is kinda sad when you think about it. Not saying Dawn's contests weren't good, but the original ones are why they were popular in the first place.

Re: Which female companion did Ash have the least memorable interaction with?

I think its Dawn. I just see more interaction with Misty and May. Have seen very little of Iris. Misty sort of taught Ash and Ash taught May and so they both had very strong relationships and interactions while I felt Dawn was a little more independent. Thats not t say Dawn didn't have good interactions with Ash. I just feel May and Misty have more memorable ones.

Re: Which female companion did Ash have the least memorable interaction with?

While I do think it's too early to be putting Iris in this sort of poll, I'm going to judge this based on how Ash interacted with the girls from the first 40ish episodes of their respective series. While it isn't much, usually by this point in any series there's a general idea how Ash bounces off with each girl. So that's the most logical way I'm gonna go about this. So far, I haven't seen anything where Ash's connection with the girls DRAMATICALLY changes as the series progresses, so I'll go on a limb and assume we won't be getting anything absolutely groundbreaking between Ash and Iris' "friendship" throughout BW's entirety.

With May, I felt a vibe of Ash being supportive and a source of inspiration/influence (though they displayed this with Dawn better). AG was the first time were Ash WASN'T in the role of "inexperienced newb" and it was a nice change of pace from what we had before. And while I never cared for Misty or her interactions with Ash, I can't deny that they were really good and close friends; the series usually does a good job about showcasing these tight friendships. Besides, Pokeshipping is powerful for a reason; I'd be flat-out in denial to say Ash and Misty never had memorable interactions. Their first meeting consisting of Ash stealing Misty's bike, frying it, then dragging her through a forest of bugs is pretty entertaining and grounds for the bickering that continued on.

With Dawn, they REALLY went out of their way to make perfect synergy with Ash. The high-touch, the influences they had on each other's battling and Contest styles (that were consistent and not one-offs). I guess arguably the influences weren't made obvious this early on in DP, but the high-touch definitely was. They got along, but they were also a lot like siblings to me. While they put a lot of work into Dawn and Ash's synergy, it was rather subtle during the early days of DP, but not to the point where it was totally unnoticeable. Either way, just like Misty and May, it was obvious that Dawn and Ash had a good, strong friendship by the 40-episode mark.

And Iris? Uh... yeah. Admittedly it's more unfair to judge Iris since the series is still going on, but I honestly feel nothing between her and Ash. She doesn't hesitate to snark at him, but I think she did it to the point of overload, which in turn reflected poorly on Iris' character. Or it did to me, anyway. But Ash usually pays no mind to her remarks (i.e. won't sink to her level) or makes unmemorable "What did you say/Whaddya mean by that/Oh, come on" responses and then the conversation is abruptly dropped. Really, there's nothing I find likable about Ash and Iris' interaction, and I don't feel the strong FRIENDSHIP vibe that I felt with him and the other girls 40 episodes into their respective series. To this day I still wonder why Iris wants or needs to travel in the group, and that's not a good sign. So while it may be too early to pass a completely fair and accurate judgment, I'm gonna say based on the first 40 episodes of every series that the weakest interaction with Ash is Iris, bar none.